First possibility - it could be bacterial infection. In the UK you'd need the vet for an effective shampoo for this.

Second possibility - it could be allergic reaction to something which might be 1) eaten or 2) contact to the skin or 3)in the air. The sure way to find out if it IS an allergic reaction is treatment by vet with steroids. Then it's the hard part to find the cause.

I think you are best to get your vet out for a proper consultation.

Oh, and also - Throw that bottle of head and shoulders away right now! I went to a lecture last year from Professor Knottenbolt at Liverpool Uni, he's a major equine skin specialist. One thing he mentioned as an aside is this and how it works on humans - strips off the top layer of the epidermis in a very aggressive way. Short term 'dandruff relief' -long term major irritation to the skin. And horse skin is not meant to be treated like that.

Iam thinking iam going to have to call the vet on this one. Which I was going to do anyway...but I thought if its itchy dry skin..i could help her. But she is sooooooo itchy. And under her chin has no fur now from itching it.

Anybody think mtg would help, and how long would I have to wait thou to even see if it helps?

Iam hoping its not allergy....gonna be a bugger to find. Too cold for bugs yet. As for "nettles"...iam going to have to google that to answer that but I highly doubt.she lays in her stall...which is sawdust and shavings, and outside she lays but the corral I have her in right now has been run down, and I give them free choice hay, till I get them to another pasture...very soon.... but ill google it

If it does turn out to be allergy, I will be able to give you a ton of useful and hopefully reassuring advice. My mare had an allergy to ....... grass, and I learnt a LOT in the course of finding out the problem.

By the way, hair will come off in clumps with any scabby skin caused by various things so rainscald not necessarily the cause.

So I bought a couple of goats from this guy, who ended up being in vet school out of province, when I went to pick them up he happened to be home for the weekend, so I asked him(he has a year left so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.) about this and described it. He said do you mind if I come look at it...just to see it, and ill talk with my professors. So he came and checked her out. He took pictures and looked, and pressed and scratched. Anyway, he seems to think its allergies, but is going to get back to me after he gets back to school.

so iam hoping iam getting a little closer.

The spots under her chin and a little spot under her mane and just behind her cheek had no hair from her scratching and rubbing. And I couldn't understand how she was getting her"under mane spot" so well, I caught her outside against a pole. I bought mtg, as I don't want her with bald spots...its working quick under her chin, slower behind her cheek, and good under her mane. I don't know if its from her itching but those spots are not dry and flaky too.

But that doesn't solve her itchiness nor her "allergy".

I guess iam going to have to get a blood test, or do you have any ideas on how to try and narrow it down.

This is so weird, I have a horse that I sold to a girl in exchange for her training this gaited gelding that I have no idea on how to get him to gait. Well anyways my horses are all pasture kept and the place they went to has this big beauitful barn and a 100 acres. Well after about a month she calls and tells me that the gaited one is loosing his hair. I go and I think ok maybe its rain rot and I do the iodine shampoo, put the MTG on him and she calls a couple of days later and says he is doing better. A week goes by and she calls and tells me that he is malnourished and he isn't trainable right now blah blah so she gives both horses back. I pick them up and the next day I take the non gaited one out and he is absoulutely covered in ticks and he is loosing his hair also. He even had full blown ticks on his anus, it was a nightmare well then I get to looking closer and guess what he has lice. Omg I'm just stunned really, I took sprays for ticks, flies and apparently it kills lice as well to her. This might be rambling, I'm sorry for that but if anyone has any good ideas about lice on horses please let me know.
I hope you find out what is wrong with your girl Pastrychef, I feel your pain.

Oh, and also - Throw that bottle of head and shoulders away right now! I went to a lecture last year from Professor Knottenbolt at Liverpool Uni, he's a major equine skin specialist. One thing he mentioned as an aside is this and how it works on humans - strips off the top layer of the epidermis in a very aggressive way. Short term 'dandruff relief' -long term major irritation to the skin. And horse skin is not meant to be treated like that.

That's weird.. my horse never experienced anything like that. And he's very sensitive to things..

Either way, OP.. let us know what the vet says. And did you manage to get pictures??

Horses are most likely to be allergic to things they have ingested, second things they have inhaled, third things they touch.

The allergy can be instant (like bee sting reaction), or it can build up over time as exposure increases.

If the allergy manifests as urticaria (spots or lumps in skin), this can cause itching that will cause scratching that can lead to secondary bacterial skin infection. So if your horse is itching it is a good idea to get a course of treatment of steroids. This will 1 - relieve the symptoms 2 - confirm it is an allergic reaction is (1) happened, and 3 - stop the secondary infection occurring.

After that, take your horse down to basics to eliminate and identify allergens. Cut hard feed down to nothing if possible, or to the US equivalent of a grass chaff and sugar-beet diet. If stabling, use only one type of bedding. If in pasture, choose one with only grass; no shrubs etc. Don't use feed supplements, don't bathe with any soaps or shampoos, don't wash your saddlecloths in laundry powder, etc etc.

Then... wait four weeks. If the allergic reaction is still there, start to eliminate things. Slowly.

In my own experience the allergen is obvious within 48 hours of exposure and clear as quickly, but the scientific advice is that it can take up to four weeks so I leave it with you to go on gut feel on this!

Blood Tests. Expensive and non-conclusive. Speak to your vet but I never found one authority on allergies that found them useful.

Vets. In My part of the world I quickly discovered that allergic reaction is such a comparitively rare problem that whilst I am not a scientist in any way, I have a bette understanding of how allergies work in horses than my vet did.

Finally, I mentioned Professor Knottenbelt of Liverpool University in the UK. He is South African, he travels the world lecturing on his specialist subject (skin problems in horses), and he helped me with my diagnosis for free over the e-mail and telephone. Look him up on google and when you are a bit further down the road, contact him. There's nothing to be lost by trying.

Chandra1313 isn't it frustrating!!did you try a insecticide shampoo from a vet office? Ill keep my ear open for you.
Skyseternalangel I think I can actually get better pictures now that a bit of her fur is gone around them. So ill try again!
Shropshirerosie wow that's alot of info. Thanks. I've been trying to narrow it down, and I think iam going to change her food. It seems to be the only thing I can narrow it down to, ill try that first. I will keep that name in mind. It doesn't hurt to contact people. Thanks! And actually I was wondering how quickly I would see a change if I had found it. I will keep you informed. Thanks!

Iam half way thru switching her feed. And I thought it was helping. I didn't find her as itchy, and her hair was growing back, but I caught her itching again today, but first time in a couple days. But she's not fully switched yet. I think ilkl call the vet tomorrow and make a appointment . I was putting it off hoping the feed would change it, considering I seen a bit of change,..but iam nervous to let it go too long. She has 2 new spots with no fur. Small spots but still. Ill let you know when the vet gets here what he says.

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